The Great British Bake Off
The Great British Bake Off, often referred to as simply Bake Off or GBBO, is a BAFTA award-winning British television baking competition first shown by BBC Two on 17 August 2010. The judges are cookery writer Mary Berry and professional baker Paul Hollywood.[1] Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins have presented all series of the programme to date.[2][3] The competition selects from amongst its contestants the best amateur baker. The programme was moved to BBC One for its fifth series after it became the most popular show on BBC Two.[4][5] Its increasing popularity is credited with reinvigorating interest in baking throughout the UK,[6] Many of its participants, including winners, have gone on to start a career based on bakery. The winners are Edd Kimber,[7] Joanne Wheatley,[8] John Whaite,[9]Frances Quinn,[10] Nancy Birtwhistle,[11] and most recently Nadiya Hussain.[12] The programme has spawned a number of specials and spin-off shows – a celebrity charity series in aid of Sport Relief or Comic Relief, Junior Bake Off''for young children (broadcast on the CBBC channel), and ''An Extra Slice aired on BBC Two after the Bake Off series was moved to BBC One.[13] Its format was also used on the BBC Two series The Great British Sewing Bee. The format has been sold to many countries around the world where local versions of the show are produced.[14] In July 2015, advertisements appeared online looking for teams of professionals to take part in a professional version similar to the amateur bake off, however this will be in groups of three with one of the three acting as 'head chef'.[15] As of 2015, the series airs on various public television stations in the United States under the name The Great British Baking Show. Format The series choose from the contestants a best amateur baker. The applicants to the show are assessed by a researcher, followed by an audition in London with two of their bakes and undergoing a screen test and an interview with a producer. A second audition involves the applicants baking two recipes for judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood in front of the cameras.[16] Ten contestants were chosen for the first series, twelve for the following two series, thirteen for the fourth, and back to twelve for the fifth. In each episode, the amateur bakers are given three challenges: a signature bake, a technical challenge, and a show-stopper.[16] The three challenges take place over two days, and the filming takes up to 16 hours a day. The contestants are assessed by the judges who then choose a "Star Baker" for the week (introduced in series 2), and a contestant is also eliminated. In the final three bakers are left and aWINNER is chosen from the three. ;Signature Challenge :This challenge is for the amateur bakers to show off their tried-and-tested recipes for bakes they might make for their friends and family. ;Technical Challenge :This challenge shows who has enough technical knowledge and experience to produce the finished product when given only limited – or even minimal – instructions. The bakers are all given the same recipe and are not told beforehand what the challenge will be. The finished products are judged blind and ranked from worst to best. ;Showstopper Challenge :This challenge is for the bakers to show off their skills and talent. The judges are looking for a bake that is both of a professional appearance but is also outstanding in taste. In the first series, the location of the cast and crew move from town to town each week, but starting from the second series, the competition is held in one location in a specially constructed marquee. Interspersed in the programme are the background of the contestants as well as video vignettes on the history of baking. What each baker intends to bake during a particular challenge is illustrated using animated graphics. These graphics have been created by illustrator Tom Hovey since the show's inception in 2010.[17][18] Series overview Series 1 (2010) Series 1 of The Great British Bake Off saw ten home bakers take part in a bake-off to test their baking skills as they battled to be crowned the Great British Bake Off's best amateur baker. Each week the nationwide tour saw the bakers put through three challenges in a particular discipline. The rounds took place in various locations across the UK, with the final being held at Fulham Palace, London. The three finalists were Ruth Clemens, Miranda Gore Browne and Edd Kimber. On 21 September 2010, Edd Kimber was crowned the best amateur baker.[21] Series 2 (2011) This year the number of amateur baker contestants increased to twelve. Unlike series 1, this year The Great British Bake Off''stayed in one location – Valentines Mansion, a 17th-century mansion house in Redbridge, London. This year all the finalists were female – Holly Bell, Mary-Anne Boermans, and the winning contestant Joanne Wheatley.[22] Series 3 (2012) A third series of ''The Great British Bake Off began on 14 August 2012.[23] The series was filmed at Harptree Court in East Harptree, Somerset. For the first time, there was an all-male final. The finalists were Brendan Lynch, James Morton and John Whaite,[24] and the final was won by John Whaite in a surprise result.[25] Series 4 (2013) The fourth series of The Great British Bake Off started on 20 August 2013 on BBC Two. The series was again filmed at Harptree Court in East Harptree, Somerset.[26] The all-female final was won by Frances Quinn, with Ruby Tandoh and Kimberley Wilson as runners up.[27] Series 5 (2014) The fifth series of The Great British Bake Off began airing on 6 August 2014 at 8:00pm on BBC One. This series was filmed atWelford Park in Berkshire.[28] There were twelve bakers taking part. Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood returned as judges, whilst Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc continued toPRESENT the series. Richard Burr was awarded the largest number of star baker designations of any series so far, but was beaten by Nancy Birtwhistle in the final. A spin-off show The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice, hosted by comedienne Jo Brand on BBC Two, was also launched as a companion series this year. Each episode was broadcast two days after the main show but later moved to the same night. The show includes interviews with eliminated contestants.[29] Series 6 (2015) The sixth series began on 5 August 2015[30] on BBC One, again from Welford Park in Berkshire. Spin-off show The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice returned for a second series, with Jo Brand as host. This series was won by Nadiya Hussain, with Ian Cumming and Tamal Ray as runners up.[31] Incomplete bakes and other incidents As of the fifth series, there have been three incomplete bakes. *In series 3, John Whaite was unable to complete his bake after he suffered a severe cut to his finger on the food processor. He tried to continue working on his strudel wearing a rubber glove, but the bleeding required medical attention and he therefore had to abandon the last bake. As a result, no one was eliminated that week.[32] *In series 4, contestant Deborah accidentally used Howard's custard instead of her own. As a result, Howard was forced to use Deborah's custard, and this was taken intoACCOUNT by the judges.[33] *In series 5, for the Baked Alaska challenge, Iain Watters' ice cream melted for reasons that were not entirely clear, although the editing of the showSUGGESTED that it had been caused by another contestant's actions. He threw his ice cream into the bin in frustration and left the tent. He returned shortly after, and as he had no cake for judging (he produced his bin instead, and the incident was labelled "bingate"), he was eliminated from the competition. The event that led to his departure provoked some anger from the viewers.[34] Reception Critical reception The early reviews for the first series were mixed. Lucy Mangan of The Guardian wondered if "competitive baking is a contradiction in terms" and found the proceedings humourless.[35] Iain Hollingshead of The Daily Telegraph was scathing, describing the presenters as "annoying", the judge Paul Hollywood as looking "sinister without being interesting", and that the audience would be so bored that they "could certainly forgive the cameraman if he were to commit hara-kiri in a giant pool of egg and flour."[36] However, reviews from the later series were more positive. Andrew Collins of The Guardian called it "the nicest show on television" and judged it theBEST TV programme of 2012.[37][38] Rachel Ward of The Daily Telegraph thought the programme "had just the right consistency of mouth-watering morsels, good humour, and fascinating history",[39] while Tom Sutcliffe of The Independent considered the contest "perfectly baked".[40] Cultural impact The show isCREDITED with spurring an interest in home baking, with supermarkets and department stores reporting sharp rises in sales of baking ingredients and accessories.[41][42] It was alsoCREDITED with reviving the Women's Institutewhose membership reached its highest level since the 1970s.[43] The show also boosted the sales of bakery books and the number of baking clubs, and independent bakeries also showed an increase in number. According to analyst, more than three fifths of adults have baked at home at least once in 2013 compared with only a third in 2011.[44] TV ratings The first series of The Great British Bake Off premiered in August 2010 with a moderate ratings of just over 2 million viewers for its first episode.[45] This was enough to place it in BBC Two's top ten for that week, and over the series the audience grew to over three million, with the semi-final and final both achieving first place in BBC Two's weekly ratings. During the second series, the ratings gradually increased, and it became a surprise hit with nearly 4 million watching each episode.[46] Week two was the last time that the show was out-rated by another BBC Two programme in the same week (it came second to the drama Page Eight); from then until the show's move to BBC One, every competition episode would be the channel's number one rated programme of the week. By its final episode it had averaged 4.56 million viewers, peaking at 5.1 million in its last 15 minutes.[47] The ratings continued to strengthen in the third series, and the show began to beat its competition in its timeslot.[48] The final of the series where John Whaite was crowned theWINNER saw its highest rating yet, with an average of 6.5 million viewers that peaked at 7.2 million, which made it the second highest-rated BBC Two originated show after Top Gear since at least 2006.[49][50] The fourth series achieved some of the highest ratings seen on BBC Two. The viewer number for its premiere episode was more than two million higher than that of the previous series,[51] while the final episode was seen by 9.1 million viewers at its peak, more than twice the number of viewers on BBC One and ITV.[52] The final episode is the most-watched show on BBC Two since thePRESENT ratings system was introduced in 2002, beating the previous record set by''Top Gear''.[53] As a result of its high ratings, the show was moved to BBC One.[13] After its move to BBC One, the opening episode was watched by over 7 million viewers according to overnight figures, beating the figure of 5.6 million for the opening episode of previous year.[54] A "sabotage" controversy surrounding episode four helped the show gain its biggest ever audience of 10.3 million viewers, with 2 million people who watched it on BBC iPlayer.[55] The final of the show gained an overnight viewing figure of 12.29 million, then the highest viewing figure of the year for a non-sporting event on UK TV.[56] Controversy Product placement sanction In September 2012, production company Love Productions was sanctioned by the BBC for product placement of Smegfridges. The issue came to light after a viewer wrote to the Radio Times complaining of "blatant product promotion". After an investigation, the BBC said Love Production's loan agreement with Smeg did not meet editorial guidelines and was being revised for the third series, and that appropriate retrospective hirePAYMENTS would be made.[57] The BBC asked Smeg to remove a notice from its website promoting its association with the show, which it has since done.[58] Favouritism During the fourth series, there were accusations of favouritism towards female contestants after the last man Glenn Cosby was eliminated from the show,[59] however similar claims were not made the previous year over the all-male final. The fourth series also suffered allegations of Paul Hollywood's favouritism towards Ruby Tandoh,[60][61] and personal attacks on Tandoh by various people including the chef Raymond Blanc.[62][63][64] Both Paul Hollywood and Ruby Tandoh denied the accusation.[65][66] Tandoh has since revealed that she is gay.[67] Baked Alaska controversy ("Bingate") In the fourth episode of the fifth series, there was controversy around the expulsion of contestant Iain Watters. During the final show stopper round contestants were tasked with producing a Baked Alaska. Iain's ice cream was shown as having not set and in a show of frustration he threw his bake in the bin. The editing of the showSUGGESTED that another contestant, Diana Beard, had caused the failure by removing the ice cream from a freezer, and the perceived "sabotage" resulted in a furore on social media networks.[68] However, various members of the cast posted comments in support of Diana[69] and a BBC spokesman later issued a statement that "Diana removing Iain's ice cream from the freezer for less than a minute was in no way responsible for Iain's departure."[70] More than 800 complaints wereLODGED with the BBC over the incident and some also complained to the communication watchdog Ofcom.[71] Innuendos A number of viewers complained to the BBC feedback show Points of View in the fifth series about the "constant smutty remarks" from thePRESENTERS Mel and Sue.[72][73] This series was seen as having more innuendos than previous ones; some reviewers noted the "extra pinch of saucy spice" and "the increasingly filthy-minded hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins",[74][75][76] while the Daily Mail argued that the "smutty" innuendos made the show no longer fit for family entertainment.[77] The series 3WINNER John Whaite however argued that innuendo is part of what made the show a success,[78] whilst judge Paul Hollywood described the innuendos as banter in the spirit of the Carry On films and is a part of British culture,[79] a view shared by others.[80][81] Awards and nominations The Great British Bake Off was nominated for a Rose d'Or in the Lifestyle section of the 2012 competition and won.[82][83] The programme has been nominated a number of times in various categories for the BAFTA awards and won in 2012 and 2013.[84][85] It also won the 2015 National Television Award for Skills Challenge Show.[86] International broadcast and versions The UK version of The Great British Bake Off is broadcast in many countries and it has been sold to 196 territories as of 2015.[95] The format has also been sold to 20 territories by 2015, making it the third most successful BBC format after''Dancing with the Stars'' (Strictly Come Dancing) and The Weakest Link.[96] Many of these shows have been successful.[14][97] The''Junior Bake Off'' format has also been sold to Thailand.[98] The fifth series was aired in the United States on PBS, as The Great British Baking Show.[99] International versions Current and upcoming versions include:[100] ''The Great Sport Relief Bake Off'' Episode viewing figures from BARB.[134] Series 1 (2012) : Finalist WINNER Series 2 (2014) : Star Baker ''The Great Comic Relief Bake Off'' Series 1 (2013) : Star Baker Series 2 (2015) : Star Baker Transmissions Regular series Specials Category:The Great British Bake Off Category:BBC Television programmes Category:British cooking television programmes Category:2010s British television series Category:English-language television programming